Michael Rosenbaum Reflects on His Guardians of the Galaxy Audition

In the wake of his debut in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Michael Rosenbaum reflects on his audition for the role of Star-Lord in the original movie. The recently released Guardians of the Galaxy sequel has been doing exceptionally well at the worldwide box office, and anticipation is already running high for the inevitable sequel. James Gunn has hinted that the original Guardians team introduced in the sequel may return in the future. If so, then that means people will get the chance to see more Rosenbaum.

Rosenbaum appeared alongside Sylvester Stallone, Ving Rhames, Michael Rosenbaum, Michelle Yeoh, and Miley Cyrus as one of the members of the original Guardians team from the comics. Michael Rooker’s Yondu was also an original member, and his character hints at that very fact several times throughout the film. Long before Rosenbaum took up the role of Martinex in the sequel, though, he was in the running for the lead role: Peter Quill, aka Star-Lord.

Speaking with THR, Michael Rosenbaum reflected on his audition for Star-Lord in James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy. He said that he never planned on auditioning, since he had never read the Guardians comics before. He only went through with the audition because Gunn, one of his best friends, insisted that he do so.

Michael Rosenbaum Reflects on His Guardians of the Galaxy Audition

“Yes, I was nervous as s— (laughs). You’re sitting there with one of your best friends who’s directing a huge movie, who knows your ability and said, ‘I wanna see your take on Peter Quill.’ Now the pressure’s on. I just had to shut it off … I remember coming up with my own dance for the Star-Lord dance scene. I had a great partner, it felt really organic right from the start.”

Although he didn’t land the part, Rosenbaum, who is widely known for playing Lex Luthor on Smallville, said he wasn’t disappointed. “You know, I didn’t really care about getting the part. I didn’t know anything about the Guardians comics. I just wanted to do a good job for James.” It’s no secret that Gunn and the rest of the crew struggled with casting Star-Lord. The director was even hesitant about hiring Chris Pratt, who was later cast in the role. It seems everything worked out in the end.

Despite not landing the leading role, Rosenbaum eventually boarded the sequel as Martinex, one of the members of Stakar Ogord’s original team of Ravagers. He showed up again in Vol. 2‘s mid-credits scene alongside Stakar, wanting to get the old team back together. Considering how secretive Marvel Studios is, we’ll just have to wait and see if Rosenbaum’s Martinex returns along with the rest of the original Ravagers team in Guardians of the Galaxy 3.